Off-ridge roof vent with internal water diverter

ABSTRACT

The off-ridge roof vent with an internal water diverter includes a throat, a hood and a water diverter. The throat has a front throat wall, a rear throat wall and a pair of longitudinally opposed throat sidewalls. The throat has open upper and lower ends. The hood has an upper hood wall that is convex upward, a pair of longitudinally opposed hood sidewalls and a lower hood wall. A lower end of the hood has a rear portion, a central portion and a front portion, the rear portion being open, aligned with, and in open communication with the open upper end of the throat. The lower hood wall defines the central portion and projects forward from the front throat wall. The front portion is open, having a perforated grating mounted therein. A water diverter extends from the front edge of the lower hood wall and slopes above the grating.

BACKGROUND 1. Field

The disclosure of the present patent application relates to attic and roof ventilation, and particularly to an off-ridge roof vent with an internal water diverter.

2. Description of the Related Art

Numerous designs for attic and roof vents are known for providing ventilation to areas beneath building roofs. The ventilation of such areas is desirable to reduce the accumulation of heat in the summer, and to reduce the accumulation of moisture at all times of the year. In providing ventilation, it is important to prevent the entry of water into the building through the vent. It is also important to prevent debris and small animals from entering the building through the vent.

A common type of off-ridge roof vent uses a simple duct having a baffle mechanism over the top to prevent the entry of rain into the building. A variation of this simple design is the turbine-type roof vent, which uses a rotating element on the exterior of the duct and interior baffles to prevent the entry of water into the building. However, such off-ridge roof vents provide only a limited area through which air and moisture may escape from the structure. Further, such designs typically extend a considerable height from the surface of the roof, making them vulnerable to being knocked from the roof by tree limbs, wires, or simply the wind itself.

Other designs fit more closely to the surface of the roof, and provide a long rectangular opening through which air and moisture may exit the structure. Generally, a slot is cut in the roof that is slightly smaller than the footprint of the vent. The slot then communicates with a passageway that, in profile, is generally in the shape of an inverted “J” or gooseneck. Thus, the opening of the vent faces down, towards the roofing surface. In this way, water is prevented from entering the structure. Such vents may also be provided with a mesh or screen covering the opening, to prevent the entry of debris or small animals into the structure. However, such low profile designs suffer from a number of disadvantages. For example, such vents are typically vulnerable to damage by wind or by impact from debris. Typically, damage from the wind to such vents is in the form of bent or deformed top pieces or hoods. Such damage makes the vent more easily penetrated by rain and debris, since portions of the vent opening are enlarged, and the damage often results in deformation of those portions of the vent that interface with the surface of the roof, thus interfering with the proper sealing of the vent to the roof surface. Additionally, although the inverted “J” shape of the hood may prevent entry of water from rain falling straight down on the hood, water that is being blown by the wind may still be able to enter the vent. Thus, an off-ridge roof vent with an internal water diverter solving the aforementioned problems is desired.

SUMMARY

The off-ridge roof vent with an internal water diverter is adapted for mounting on a roof of a building. The off-ridge roof vent with an internal water diverter includes a throat, a hood and a water diverter. The throat has a front throat wall, a rear throat wall and a pair of longitudinally opposed throat sidewalls. The throat has an open upper end and an open lower end. The hood has an upper hood wall with a convex cross section, a pair of longitudinally opposed hood sidewalls and a lower hood wall. A lower end of the hood has a rear portion, a central portion and a front portion, where the rear portion is open and is aligned with, and is in open communication with, the open upper end of the throat. The lower hood wall defines the central portion of the lower end of the hood and projects forward from the front throat wall. The front portion of the lower end of the hood is open. The convex cross section of the upper hood wall provides for smooth air flow over the vent.

A water diverter is formed in the lower hood wall and projects upward therefrom to prevent water from the external environment being blown into the throat through the open front portion of the lower end of the hood. A screen may be provided for covering the front portion of the lower end of the hood. Further, a peripheral flange may be secured to, and extend around, the open lower end of the throat.

It should be understood that the off-ridge roof vent with an internal water diverter may be formed from any suitable type of wind and water resistant material. Examples of such material include aluminum-zinc-coated steel and aluminum. It should be further understood that the various components of the off-ridge roof vent with an internal water diverter may be joined to one another using any suitable method. Preferably, Pittsburgh seams are used.

These and other features of the present subject matter will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an off-ridge roof vent with an internal water diverter.

FIG. 2 is a section view taken along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is front view of a vent grating for the off-ridge roof vent of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the off-ridge roof vent of FIG. 1.

Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The off-ridge roof vent with an internal water diverter, designated generally as 10 in the drawings, is adapted for mounting on a roof of a building. As shown in FIGS. 1-2 and 4, the off-ridge roof vent 10 includes a throat 12, a hood 14 and a water diverter 44. The throat 12 has a front throat wall 16, a rear throat wall 18 and a pair of longitudinally opposed throat sidewalls 20, 22. The throat 12 has an open upper end 24 and an open lower end 26. The hood 14 has an upper hood wall 28 with a convex cross section, i.e., the upper hood wall 28 is convex upward, a pair of longitudinally opposed hood sidewalls 30, 32, and a lower hood wall 34. A lower end 42 of the hood 14 has a rear portion 36, a central portion 38 and a front portion 40, where the rear portion 36 is open and is aligned with, and is in open communication with, the open upper end 24 of the throat 12. The lower hood wall 34 defines the central portion 38 of the lower end 42 of the hood 14 and extends forward from the front throat wall 16. The front portion 40 of the lower end 42 of the hood 14 has a grating 46 mounted therein. The convex external surface of the upper hood wall 28 provides for smooth air flow over the vent 10, while the concave inner surface of the upper hood wall gradually bends the flow of air exiting the attic 180° to flow out through the hood 14 and bends the flow of air entering through the grating 46 by 180° to flow into the attic through the throat 12 to try to equilibrate the temperature and pressure of the interior and exterior air. It will be noted that the front throat wall 16 acts as a partition separating the two air flows, which are substantially parallel to each other, but in opposite directions. Although the throat 12 and the hood 14 have been described as separate parts of the vent 10, it will be understood that the throat 12 and the hood 14 form a continuous structure defining a single, unitary duct or air passage from the lower end 26 of the throat to the grating 46 mounted in the front portion 40 of the lower end 42 of the hood 14 for the passage of air between the attic spaces and the exterior of the building and vice versa.

A water diverter 44 is formed in the lower hood wall 34 between the central portion 38 of the lower end 42 of the hood 14 and the grating 46 and projects upward at an angle of about 45° to prevent water from the external environment being blown into the throat 12 through the grating 46 mounted in the lower end 42 of the hood 14. Further, a peripheral mounting flange (or flanges) 48 may be secured to, and extend around, the open lower end 26 of the throat 12. As shown in FIG. 1, apertures 50 may be formed in the flange 48 for fasteners for attaching the vent 10 to the roof, the apertures 50 being spaced 4″ on center and staggered, and a minimum of 1″ from the edge of the flange 48.

As best seen in FIG. 2, the peripheral flange 48 may be parallel to the lower hood wall 34. Further, the front throat wall 16 may extend orthogonally with respect to the peripheral flange 48 and the lower hood wall 34. The rear throat wall 18 may also be parallel to the front throat wall 16. The water diverter 44 may be angled upwardly from a plane defined by the lower hood wall 34 at an angle θ of 45°. Further, the grating 46 may be provided for covering the front portion 40 of the lower end 42 of hood 14. As shown in FIG. 3, the grating 46 may be formed as an elongated wall 55 with a linear array of perforated grids 54 formed therein. The holes 56 defining the perforations permit the flow of air into and out of the vent 10 while resisting the passage of water.

It should be understood that the off-ridge roof vent with an internal water diverter 10 may be formed from any suitable type of wind and water resistant material. Preferably, the vent 10 is made from 26-gauge galvalume (steel sheet metal coated with Galvalume® [a registered trademark of BIEC International, Inc. of Vancouver, Wash., referring to a coating containing about 55% zinc, 43-44% aluminum, and trace amounts of silicon] or 0.032-inch aluminum. It should be further understood that the various components of the off-ridge roof vent 10 with an internal water diverter may be joined to one another using any suitable method. Preferably, the sides, flanges, and grating are joined to the body of the vent 10 by Pittsburgh seams (a sheet metal joint where on sheet has a 90° flange inserted in a pocket formed in the second sheet, which is covered by bending a flap on the second sheet), thereby providing a seam or joint that is resistant to penetration by water. The holes 56 in the perforated grids 54 may be formed directly in the sheet metal, avoiding the necessity of using flimsy wire screens to cover the external openings of the vent 10.

It should also be understood that the relative dimensions of the off-ridge roof vent 10 shown in FIGS. 1-3 are for exemplary purposes only. For example, corresponding to a vent having a nominal length of four feet, the longitudinal length L₁ of front throat wall 16, rear throat wall 18, grating 46 and upper hood wall 28 may be 46% inches. Corresponding to this exemplary length, the side portions 58, 60 of the peripheral flange 48 may each have a width L₂ of 2⅝ inches. Corresponding to these exemplary dimensions, the open lower end of throat 12 may have a lateral width W₁ of 6½ inches, the rear portion 62 of the peripheral flange 48 may have a lateral width W₂ of 3 inches, and the front portion 64 of the peripheral flange 48 may have a lateral width W₃ of 7 inches. Corresponding to these exemplary dimensions, the height H₁ of the throat 12 may be 5 inches, and the height H₂ of the hood 14 may be 6⅜ inches. Corresponding to these exemplary dimensions, a lateral width W₄ of the lower hood wall 34 may be 2 inches, a lateral width W₅ of the grating 46 may be 3 inches, and a length L₃ of the water diverter 44 may be 1½ inches. Additionally, corresponding to these exemplary dimensions, the spacing between adjacent grids 54 of the grating 46, and the width of the wall 55 surrounding each opening 54 may be ½ of an inch.

It is to be understood that the off-ridge roof vent with an internal water diverter is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the generic language of the following claims enabled by the embodiments described herein, or otherwise shown in the drawings or described above in terms sufficient to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the claimed subject matter. 

1. An off-ridge roof vent with an internal water diverter, comprising a vent body having: a throat, including: a front throat wall; a rear throat wall; and a pair of longitudinally opposed throat sidewalls extending between the front throat wall and the rear throat wall, the throat having an open upper end and an open lower end, the lower end being dimensioned and configured for installation over an opening defined in a roof of a building; a hood, including: an upper hood wall, the upper hood wall being convex upward; a pair of longitudinally opposed hood sidewalls disposed on opposite sides of the upper hood wall; and a lower hood wall, and a lower end, the hood having a rear portion, a central portion and a front portion, the rear portion being open, aligned with, and in open communication with the open upper end of the throat, the lower hood wall defining the central portion of the lower end of the hood and projecting forward from the front throat wall, the front portion defining a vent opening, the throat and the hood defining a duct providing a continuous air passage from interior air spaces to exterior environmental air above the roof; a water diverter extending at an angle from the lower hood wall above a portion of the vent opening, diverting water to drip downward and out the vent opening onto the roof; and a grating disposed in the vent opening, the grating having one end mounted to the lower end of the hood and its opposed end mounted to the lower hood wall, the grating having a plurality of perforations defined therein permitting passage of air between the interior air spaces and the exterior environmental air above the roof.
 2. The off-ridge roof vent as recited in claim 1, wherein said grating comprises an elongated wall having a linear array of perforated grids formed therein.
 3. The off-ridge roof vent as recited in claim 1, wherein the throat sidewalls are attached to the front and rear throat walls and the hood sidewalls are attached to the upper hood wall.
 4. The off-ridge roof vent as recited in claim 1, further comprising a peripheral mounting flange extending around the open lower end of the throat for attaching the vent body to the roof of the building.
 5. The off-ridge roof vent as recited in claim 4, wherein the peripheral mounting flange is parallel to the lower hood wall.
 6. The off-ridge roof vent as recited in claim 5, wherein the front throat wall is orthogonal to the peripheral mounting flange and the lower hood wall.
 7. The off-ridge roof vent as recited in claim 6, wherein the rear throat wall is parallel to the front throat wall.
 8. The off-ridge roof vent as recited in claim 1, wherein the water diverter is angled upwardly from a plane defined by the lower hood wall by an angle of 45°.
 9. The off-ridge roof vent as recited in claim 1, wherein said vent body is made from a material selected from the group consisting of galvalume sheet metal and aluminum sheet metal.
 10. The off-ridge roof vent as recited in claim 1, wherein said hood has a curvature of 180°, said throat and said hood front portion defining air passages extending substantially parallel to each other, the lower hood wall and the vent opening being orthogonal to the front throat wall.
 11. An off-ridge roof vent, comprising: an elongate rectangular duct defining a throat of the vent, the duct having a front wall, a rear wall, opposing sidewalls, an open upper end, and an open lower end; a mounting flange extending from the elongate rectangular duct around the open lower end, the mounting flange being adapted for attaching the duct to a roof of a building over an opening in the roof for ventilating spaces below the roof; an elongate dome-shaped hood having: a rear portion disposed over the open upper end of the elongate rectangular duct; a front portion defining an overhang extending forward from the rear portion, the overhang having a lower side, a front end, and a rear end; and the hood having an elongate lower wall extending from the front wall of the elongate rectangular duct along the rear end of the overhang and a vent opening extending along the front end of the overhang; a water diverter extending from the elongate lower wall of the hood above the vent opening at an angle for diverting water to drip downward and out the vent opening; and a grating disposed in the vent opening, the grating having one end mounted to the lower end of the hood and its opposed end mounted to the lower hood wall, the grating having a plurality of perforations defined therein permitting passage of air between interior air spaces below the roof and exterior environmental air above the roof.
 12. The off-ridge roof vent according to claim 11, wherein said grating comprises an elongated wall having a linear array of perforated grids formed therein.
 13. The off-ridge roof vent according to claim 11, wherein the walls of said elongate rectangular duct and said hood are attached to provide protection against water entering through joints in said duct and said hood.
 14. The off-ridge roof vent according to claim 11, wherein said mounting flanges have staggered mounting holes for using fasteners inserted therein.
 15. The off-ridge roof vent according to claim 11, wherein the water diverter is angled upward from a plane defined by the lower hood wall by an angle of 45°.
 16. The off-ridge roof vent according to claim 11, wherein said duct, said mounting flange, and said hood are made from a material selected from the group consisting of galvalume sheet metal and aluminum sheet metal.
 17. The off-ridge roof vent according to claim 11, wherein said hood has a curvature of 180°, said throat and said hood front portion defining air passages extending substantially parallel to each other, the lower hood wall and the vent opening being orthogonal to said throat. 